Monday, August 17, 2015

Blowing the Shofar

A herald blast ushers in a holy day.

It opens the year of Jubilee.

It awakens the slumbering soul.

Listen carefully.

Hear the shofar trumpet the news of the Lord's victory.

Wait and see what the Lord will do.

Today is my birthday. It may not mean much to anyone else, but it's one of those days in my year when I look back over the past year and look forward to the next. Like a personal New Year's Day, it pauses me long enough to say, "What do I want to do next?"

In a word, plenty.

I am constantly setting goals, marking things off to do lists, and scribbling in new notes of new things to do. I have an ever-growing bucket list, an ever-expanding list of places I want to visit, languages I wish I could learn, books I want to read and write.

This year, one of my "goals" is to listen to the spiritual rhythms of the year as God designed it. From the contemplative beginnings of cleansing and forgiveness to the spring celebrations of deliverance and new life back to another new beginning in the fall, the cycle repeats itself year after year.

The new year starts in the western world on January 1. For the Jews, it begins in the fall.

For me, it starts today.

Photo credit: Government Press Office (GPO) via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-SA

1 comment:

Angel said...

Love this! Can't wait to see where it takes you this year.